From property protection and plant security to investigative services and bodyguards - the security industry is booming. And that includes Germany.
A Growing Market in Germany
As early as 2017, data experts from the research firm Statista issued a remarkable revenue forecast. Based on an industry report covering guard and security services as well as detective agencies, they projected an annual revenue of approximately 7.7 billion euros for security services in Germany. However, this calculation took into account only those companies with an annual revenue exceeding 17,500 euros. The industry has demonstrated consistent growth since data analysis began in 2007. In 2023, a total of 5,794 companies operating in the guard and security services sector were recorded in Germany.
In neighboring Austria, revenues in this sector are significantly lower; in 2023, the industry recorded a total revenue of approximately 760 million euros.
Arguably the largest company in Germany is Securitas GmbH, headquartered in Berlin. With over 10,000 employees, the company is one of the national market leaders in security and investigative services. Other market leaders include the Kötter Group, based in Essen, and Kieler Wach- und Sicherheitsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG. In 2023, these companies reported annual revenues in the nine-to-ten-figure range.
Scant information regarding the number of bodyguards employed
In industry overviews, various fields of activity are collectively categorized as "security services." However, some German companies explicitly list personal and property protection on their websites. Nevertheless, no precise figures are available specifically for the classic "bodyguard" role or for personal protection services. Across the entire private security sector, however, approximately 290,600 people were employed in Germany in 2024. Employment figures have risen significantly over the past few decades.
However, figures are available from the state security services. Comparable to the U.S. Secret Service is the Security Group (SG) of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). Approximately 500 specially trained officers are available specifically for the personal protection of federal institutions and officials. Given that personal protection - involving close-in security and the early detection of threats - must be provided around the clock, both domestically and abroad, this number of highly trained professionals likely represents a minimum requirement.
At the state level, these duties are handled by the State Criminal Police Offices or the regular police force. Areas such as facility security and access control are typically the responsibility of the Federal Police. "It is the office that is protected, not the person" - whether this motto of the official security sector is truly meant to be taken literally remains open to question. Nevertheless, under German law, the private sphere of public officeholders is not to be accorded a privileged status.
The Origins of Networked Private Detective Agencies and Providers of Property and Personal Protection Services
It is certainly fascinating to consider who invented the world's first organized and networked private detective agency. The name Allan Pinkerton is, in fact, closely linked to the founding of the Secret Service in the United States. In 1850, Pinkerton - a young Scotsman - became the founder of an industry that is today globally interconnected. In 1850, the city of Chicago, USA, had a population of approximately 30,000, yet employed only about a dozen police officers. Under these conditions, maintaining law and order was impossible - let alone solving crimes. Consequently, Pinkerton's agency in Chicago saw its order books fill up immediately. As the volume of assignments increased and operations expanded beyond the local region, the need arose for more staff and branch offices. In small towns across the West, a single sheriff was often solely responsible - working day and night - for ensuring the safety of the community and the surrounding area. Here, too, private detective services, as well as property and personal protection, emerged as a growth industry. A vast network of branch offices soon took shape - employing as many as 30,000 people across the U.S. by 1870. Stagecoach and train robbers, murderers, and extortionists could now be apprehended by private agents and handed over to state authorities. Likewise, professional protective escorts became available. The highly successful Allan Pinkerton quickly rose to national fame. After his agency successfully thwarted an assassination plot against the U.S. President in 1861, he personally served - albeit temporarily - as President Abraham Lincoln's bodyguard. This marked the birth of the government-run Secret Service.
There are also bad bodyguards
John Parker was likely one of them. The last bodyguard of the then - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, he left the theater in 1885 - where his charge was gravely wounded by an assassin and died shortly thereafter - to get drunk at a nearby saloon. It remained unclear whether the bodyguard left of his own accord or was asked to do so.
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Sources
Data Research Department Statista: "Prognostizierte Umsatzentwicklung in der Sicherheitsbranche in Deutschland in den Jahren von 2007 bis 2021", published 07/2017. (German)
de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/248225/umfrage/prognose-zum-umsatz-in-der-sicherheitsbranche-in-deutschland/
LinkedIN Profil of the company Securitas Holding GmbH, Berlin.
de.linkedin.com/company/securitas-deutschland
Data Research Department Statista in evaluation: "Umsatz im Bereich der privaten Wach- und Sicherheitsdienste in Österreich von 2013 bis 2023 ", published 10/2024. (German)
de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1125658/umfrage/umsatz-im-bereich-der-privaten-wach-und-sicherheitsdienste-in-oesterreich/
Data Research Department Statista in evaluation: "Umsatz der führenden Sicherheitsdienstleister mit Sicherheit in Deutschland im Jahr 2023", published 01/2025. (German)
de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/248225/umfrage/prognose-zum-umsatz-in-der-sicherheitsbranche-in-deutschland/
Data Research Department Statista in evaluation: "Entwicklung der Anzahl der Wach- und Sicherheitsunternehmen in Deutschland in den Jahren von 2009 bis 2023", published 03/2025. (German)
de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/258509/umfrage/entwicklung-der-anzahl-der-wach-und-sicherheitsunternehmen-in-deutschland/
Data Research Department Statista in evaluation: "Entwicklung der Beschäftigten* in der Sicherheitsdienstleistungswirtschaft in Deutschland in den Jahren von 2000 bis 2024", published 03/2025. (German)
de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/258508/umfrage/beschaeftigte-in-der-sicherheitsdienstleistungswirtschaft-in-deutschland/
Magazine Welt der Wunder in article "Wer bekommt in Deutschland Personenschutz?", Edition10/25, P. 92.(German)
Magazine Welt der Wunder in article "Wer war der schlechteste Bodyguard aller Zeiten?", Edition 10/25, P.92. (German)
Magazin Welt der Wunder in article "Der Mann, der den Secret Service erfand", Ausgabe 10/25, P. 86-91. (German)